


Time Has Yet To Heal

by Gabrieldiedforoursins



Series: Crappy Boyfriend Verse [2]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Angst, Dorian Being Dorian, Drinking, Feelings, M/M, Post Break Up, light fluff, playing with hair
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-24
Updated: 2016-08-24
Packaged: 2018-08-10 17:54:04
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,091
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7855150
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gabrieldiedforoursins/pseuds/Gabrieldiedforoursins
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cullen thought Dorian was doing better, and Dorian had been doing better, until he wasn't.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Time Has Yet To Heal

**Author's Note:**

> You need to read This Sucks first for this to make sense.

 As a matter of pride, Dorian was good at keeping up a mask. While draped in fine clothing and glittering jewels, it was easy to forget that there was a genuine person beneath the luxury. The masks, however, didn't come easily, not as they once had. Bull had seen to that. The man had found a way into his mind, and had picked apart the walls brick by brick, until there was a bare and vulnerable human in the palm of his hand.  Dorian still wore the kohl and the gold dust, but he seemed lighter, more open, and the entirety of the Inquisition benefited from it.  
  
    That was then. Now? Now the barriers were back up, built higher than ever. And no matter how many times The Iron Bull apologized for hurting him, Dorian didn't feel as if he'd ever recover. He threw himself into his studies, his games with Cullen, though they lacked their earlier theatrics. It wore the mage down, and his performance started to decline.  
  
    Cullen couldn't stand to see someone of so much value spin out of control. It worried him and he wanted to do something, though what he wasn't sure. But he had a hunch that one of these days, Dorian was going to get injured in battle. When a mage could no longer perform well, things tended to get messy. He tried to ignore it, but when Dorian lost a game of chess, and hadn't even attempted at cheating his way to a victory, Cullen knew he had to intervene.  
  
    Stalking his way to the library , Cullen sought out the steadily more elusive mage. And find him he did. Dorian was curled up in his chair, several empty bottles of wine laying at his feet, and a book propped open to give the illusion of productiveness. Cullen stood in front of the chair and cleared his throat.  
Dorian turned his head and raised an eyebrow.

  
    "Ah, Cullen. Did I miss a game? So terribly sorry." He made to stand, and seemed puzzled by the bottles near him. "Kaffas, did I really drink that much?" He shook his head, and walked away from the mess, only wobbling slightly. Cullen held his arm out to catch him, and nodded.

  
     "You did, miss a game and drink that much, though I'm not entirely sure why. We all thought you were doing better after that...event..with Bull." He was worried, and his worry only grew as Dorian looked away.

  
    "Not that much better, I'm afraid, Commander. Though perhaps this is a conversation better suited to be held elsewhere? There are many ears in a location such as this." Dorian was of course referring to Solas and Liliana. It was no secret that those two were great peddlers of information pertaining to others, and Dorian had the sneaking suspicion that Bull would continue to try and see if he was doing okay, despite the open hostility.

  
    "Of course. To my office then? I hate seeing you like this." Cullen continued to help keep the other steady as they made their way back to his chambers.  
  
     As they descended from the library, and made their way down the hall, Dorian frowned, and voiced what was on his mind.

  
    "Why do you care so much?" He continued leaning against Cullen as he opened the door, and walked him inside, letting him sit in a chair.

  
    "Because, I figured after everything, we were at the least, friends." Dorian watched as the Commander walked around to the other side of the desk, sitting in his own chair. "Now that we're away from prying eyes, are you going to tell me what's going on in that pretty little head of yours?" Cullen offered a crooked smile, folding his hands on the desk top. Dorian took a deep breath, and sighed, wishing for all the world that he still had a bottle of the Tevinter wine from the reserves.

  
    "Yes, Bull and I parted ways, and I thought we would be able to stay amicable to each other, but as it turns, his nature is too endearing to not fall for over again." Dorian wasn't drunk enough for this. "And then...He was entirely unkind, and I'll leave it at that." He leaned his head onto the desk, and nearly jumped when he felt Cullen move to run a hand through his hair.   
    "Why, Commander, who thought you the comforting type?" Cullen looked startled, and withdrew his hand, only to have Dorian grab his wrist and replace it. "I'm not complaining. I've had a surprising lack of kind contact as of late."  
  
    He was being vulnerable, and Dorian hated himself for it. But Cullen was easy to relax around, and he wanted to take comfort where he could. A quiet snort was all he got from Cullen, and he once more ran his fingers through Dorian's dark locks.  
  
    "You didn't deserve it, you know. What Bull said? It was entirely cruel." Cullen's voice was quiet and soothing, but Dorian tensed at the mention of Bull's actions.

  
    "Yet some how I'm still inclined to believe I earned it. I was foolish enough to believe that something that easy would come without a catch." Something that good, that easy and welcoming never happened to Dorian. It just didn't.  

  
    "Something calm and easy is exactly what you've earned. You didn't earn those harsh words, or the revelation of a lie of that scale. Despite how it may seem now, there are people who genuinely care about you, no false pretenses." Cullen was angry at Bull, and that was a feeling one didn't acquire lightly about the Qunari. He had offered to send some of his men to deal with The Iron Bull, but Dorian before had laughed and shook his head no, saying it would cause more trouble than it was worth.

  
    "I feel as if the calmest and easiest I've had is with you, and I'm forever grateful for your companionship and friendship, dear Commander." And he was. There was a fondness and slight ache in Dorian's heart while thinking of Cullen, and everything the other man had done for him.  
  
    Cullen smiled sadly, and patted Dorian's hair.

  
    "I try my best," His heart hurt for Dorian, and he wanted to make him feel better, to erase the pain that The Iron Bull had created. And if he could do that, at least for a little bit, then he would have succeeded.

  
     A small voice quietly rose up from Dorian.

  
    "Thank you, Cullen..."

  
    "You're welcome."


End file.
